Use Agile for Non-Software Projects
Learning Objectives
After completing this module, you will be able to:
- Describe the values and principles of Agile methodologies.
- Explain how to apply Agile values and principles to non-software projects.
Find the Right Recipe for Project Success
Image Credit: Sergey Nivens/Adobe Stock
If you are preparing a dinner, you may appreciate the value of a good recipe. Ingredients, instructions, guidelines, and tips are all there. However, the same dish can have multiple recipes. An internet search for lasagna recipes may result in hundreds or even thousands of variations.
The reason? Differences in experience, preferences, and circumstances. If you are an experienced cook, you may prefer the recipe you have used for years. Or you may prefer something calling for less effort or quicker completion time. One of your dinner guests may be sensitive to dairy. Experience, preferences, and circumstances often drive the preparation.
Walden University lets us know project management methodologies and approaches are in many ways like recipes for dishes. They include the necessary steps, guidelines, and tips to help ensure project success. While experienced project managers may select an approach based on experience or preference, project characteristics and circumstances are also important to consider. This is especially true for agile project management.
Agile Cookbook–The Agile Manifesto
A group of 17 experienced software developers created the Agile Manifesto in 2001 as a way to address issues with traditional software development methods—particularly the very high rate of software development project failure. They defined four values and 12 guiding principles that serve as a foundation for Agile practices.
Agile Values
Similar to the Salesforce V2MOM, these values guide how Agile plans are developed and the things that should be top-of-mind for anyone following the methodology.
- Individual and Interactions Over Processes and Tools
- Customer Collaboration Over Contract Negotiation
- Responding to Change Over Following a Plan
- Working Software Over Comprehensive Documentation
Agile Principles
- Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software.
- Welcome changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes harness change for the customer’s competitive advantage.
- Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a preference to the shorter timescale.
- Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the project.
- Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need and trust them to get the job done.
- The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face conversation.
- Working software is the primary measure of progress.
- Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, developers, and users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely.
- Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility.
- Simplicity—the art of maximizing the amount of work not done—is essential.
- The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams.
- At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly.
Although originally designed to improve software development, Agile suits many environments. Increasingly, businesses are adopting Agile to improve productivity and performance across the organization.
Let’s look at an example of a project with differing results using traditional versus Agile project management.
Surprise!
Your organization is hosting an open house to showcase its new office building. Employees are very excited to see the new space that they have been hearing about for several years. From what they have heard, the work areas are modern and have a flexible design that can be easily modified to support greater collaboration across teams. The company executives were particularly proud of the design for “manager’s row,” an open-door concept guaranteed to increase communications among managers and employees.
As the project manager for the design and development of manager’s row, you couldn’t wait to see their reactions. You expected high fives all around and kudos for the innovative design. You weren’t prepared, though, as the group of managers stared in silence, their disappointment apparent.
What happened? You and the project team worked closely with an architect and building contractor to plan the project. They had a comprehensive project plan that was followed step by step. Every task was complete, and the project finished on time and on budget. That means the project was a success, right? Wrong.
Let’s consider the situation in the context of traditional project management.
Traditional project management relies heavily on extensive documentation. It is assumed that all of the requirements for the project are known and fixed before the work begins. The customer or end user is engaged in the planning stage to define the requirements. They may receive reports on the status and performance of the project, but they don’t see the finished result until the end. Surprise!
In terms of customer satisfaction this project failed to meet expectations.
A Is for Agile
With Agile, however, built-in feedback loops provide for close collaboration with the customer and the opportunity to incorporate changes quickly and easily without impacting time and cost.
How might the result of the workspace project have been different if an Agile approach was used? Let’s walk through the example.
Cycle 1
The first iteration includes the project team, managers who will occupy the new space, the architect who will design the space, and the building contractor. The expected deliverable from this iteration is a prototype drawing of the new space that meets customer requirements.
The managers provide their requirements. The architect captures the requirements in design software and shows the team a prototype drawing of the design. The building contractor provides input on building code compliance that cannot be overlooked. The architect modifies the design to comply with building code. At the end of the session all agree that the expected result has been successfully delivered.
Cycle 2
The same group gathers for the second iteration. A 3D model of the workspace provided by the builder is the expected outcome of this session. The architect brings the most current drawing of the space. The builder brings a preliminary model. Upon reviewing the model, the managers immediately notice an issue.
The open-door spaces for managers won’t allow for privacy. Managers must be able to speak with employees privately, and it’s challenging to have to find a conference room for these discussions. The architect and builder come up with a modified design. The 3D model is updated, and all agree on the new design.
Cycle 3
For the third iteration, the builder brings in a team to do a partial build of the new space. While the workers set up, the builder reviews the 3D model with the project team and incorporates some small changes requested by the managers. The construction crew gets the go-ahead.
Now the project team has the opportunity to see the space and provide any final input before final building begins. The managers are satisfied with the result, as their input has been taken into account and their requirements have been met.
By changing the “recipe” you’ve reduced the likelihood of any surprises on opening day. Phew!
Your Project Is Served
No single recipe works for everyone, as experience, preferences, and circumstances vary. For these same reasons, no single project management approach works for every project. For projects that can benefit from an iterative approach that is welcoming of change and focused on the delivery of value to the customer, Agile represents an appetizing option. Despite its history as an approach for software development, many organizations are finding the benefits of Agile to be simply too tasty to ignore.
So far, Walden University walked us through the lifecycle of a project and the various methodologies you can apply. In the next unit, you bring it all together by learning how you can ensure your project delivers value to your organization.